Behind Closed Walls
by CaptainTalon447
Summary: Akako Kijime was called forth by Sengoku Academy to improve her buddyfighting skills but for as much prestige as Sengoku has mysteries and rumors lie inside it's massive walls.
1. A Great Opportunity and a Brash Leader

Akako Kijime sat outside of the student council president's office of Aibo Academy clutching her binder close. It was always a pleasant surprise when the president would offer his time to a student especially when it came to trading Buddyfight cards. "Akako, President Shido will now be able to speak with you, please follow me" his assistant said ushering her inside to his office.

The twelve year old sixth grader took a seat moving the stray strands of her crimson hair away from her face and fiddling with the dog tags around her neck. Her black eyes stayed focus on the back of the president's chair as he turned around getting a good look only to see a girl whose nerves was still getting the better of her.

"You may leave us for now Sofia," he said sending her off leaving just Akako and himself. Shido pulled out his binder from under his desk flipping through the contents. "Why so uptight we're just here to do some trading and maybe discuss a little about your transfer."

Akako was shocked to hear about this never before had she mentioned to anyone about her invitiation. "Uh...yes, I was apparently recognized by Sengoku Academy during one of my fights in the ABC cup. Even though I never made it to the finals a member of their student body said that my potential could be better realized at their school. A couple of days later I had received that invitation in writing I just haven't accepted it yet."

"And why is that...?"

"Mostly because I don't quite have the cards necessary to feel like I can compete with their students. The way they train and the types of decks I would have to go up against would indicate that I will not be able to last two days before crawling back to here. You see it's just me and my brother in an apartment. While his job as a Buddypolice officer is what's keeping a roof over our heads it doesn't exactly allow us much lead way in terms of luxuries. In order to help with the cost I don't get packs very often I maybe get like one pack at the end of every month or so..."

"Well, that is exactly why I called you in," he said flipping from page to page ", if you decide then as president the least I can do for you is support you in that decision on behalf of the entire student body." Shido closed his binder then went into another drawer to pull out another binder. "Hmm...you seem to use a world that doesn't seem to have as many cards as the other worlds do so trying to help you may be a bit tricky."

"Oh yes," Akako replied now showing a little bit of life in her eyes ", the trial deck and extra booster only came out about three months my deck is just a slightly streamlined version of the trial deck with some generic cards to help move through the deck a bit easier." Finally something had caught her eye as she very carefully took a look at the page Shido had stopped on. "Is that...it's the impact card I have been looking for," she exclaimed pulling it carefully out of the page ", and you even have a full set of four!"

"Well is that what you need then?"

"Yes it will help my deck out so much!"

Shido then smirked underneath. "Then go ahead and take them if it will help you complete your deck."

"Thank you so much," she said shaking his hand before placing them into her deck box carefully. "You saved me so much money of having to open more boosters than we can afford," those cards meant so much more to Akako since now she felt like she could now be able to compete in Sengoku with a now more capable deck than before.

"Don't mention it but now there is a favor I would like for you to do since you now seem that you want to go to Sengoku," Shido said pulling out what looked like to be a sealed core gadget. "I want to extend a goodwill to them. Since I have some friends over there they loaned me this deck to use. I of course have no need for this deck so I just want to return this to them but trying to get this to them is so hard since it is located up in the mountains. Can I ask you to at least do this for me?"

Akako picked up the core gadget and examined it. It did have a foreboding energy coming from it but if it was somebody else's deck then who was she not to accept such a simple task? "Sure I can do that but who is it going to," she asked still toying with it slightly.

"Oh just give it to the student body president they'll know who to give it to," he said now shutting his binders and putting them away.

"Okay well thank you again President Shido," she said happily and then left as Sofia came back inside once their meeting was over.

"You trust that girl to hand over a Disaster Force gadget considering her brother is a cop?"

Shido shook his in disapproval. "Sofia...Sofia, I don't look at the fact that her brother is a cop. What I look at is the opportunity to help someone in desperate need and that they merely do what I need to respect what I did for them."

* * *

Akako was overjoyed as she started to rush back home. She wanted nothing more than hurry back and fine tune her deck just a little more. After running, jumping, and sometimes tripping over other people finally she made back to her apartment complex bursting through the door only to see her brother sitting right there at the table with a small cake and a congratulation banner. "Well took ya long enough to get home," he said getting up to hug Akako. Kuro Kijime was about nine years older than Akako. A detective of the Buddy Police at only nineteen years old, Kuro spent a lot more time working behind his desk doing more paperwork than actual cases. However, though that doesn't mean he hasn't had experience out in the field. He was a good fighter winning a lot of his matches and locking some of the worst in illegal Buddy Fighters.

"What are you doing here nii-san? I thought you said that you were the graveyard shift this evening," she said taking a seat at the table to cut herself a small piece of the cake he brought home.

"Well...remember all those nights I came home really late from the office?," Akako nodded between large gulps of her cake. "I took those couple of late nights so that I had enough vacation time to help you get ready for your trip to Sengoku Academy. Plus, we have quite a bit of extra money to get this...," out from him bag came a medium sized box shrink-wrapped. It was then that Akako stopped eating looking at her brother with big eyes.

"You're not serious..."

"Let's find you your Buddy Monster. I have a really good feeling about this."

For the rest of the afternoon that's what Akako and Kuro did. As they unwrapped pack after pack hopes that were high up were now starting to sink like a stone. Sure there were some cards that could've helped Akako's deck but no Buddy Rare inside it was then that they were down to two packs. "Well at least there's stuff that I could use to improve the deck or at least prep my ten-card sideboard but still no buddy rare. Sorry nii-san looks like you've wasted your time and money on a box," she sighed leaning back ", I guess I may as well take another look at that invitation to see what I need for the trip up."

As Akako tossed her book bag onto the couch out came the core gadget that she was given by President Shido. Kuro picked up examining the bone sides and blue crystal in the middle of the case itself. "Hey sis, where'd you get this core gadget from? We don't have any Buddy Monsters to have a core gadget of our own," he asked still rotating it around examining it thoroughly.

"Oh that, I met with President Shido today and he gave me the impact cards needed to help improve my deck. In exchange he wanted me to run an errand and deliver this core gadget to the student body at Sengoku," she called pulling out a large mountain backpack a gift from her parents when they as a family used to go hiking deep into mountains. "I mean it's not too big of a deal and it fits within my stuff perfectly." It was then that Kuro didn't look to happy as he put the case back down on the table.

"Sis, I should probably take this down to the station," he replied handing it back to Akako. "About two weeks ago there was an attack on a Photon metal mine and a lot of the ore that was needed to properly build core gadgets was taken. For that reason Commander I has been asking any and all officers to bring in any suspicious cases that are found for inspection. I'm especially worried because the case is sealed like this that you may end transporting something that would put you in danger."

Akako still packed putting the case in with her stuff. "I'm sure it's nothing though nii-san it'll be fine it's probably just sealed like in order keep people from stealing the cards inside. How would you feel if your cards were messed around with inside," she replied though much to the dismay of her brother.

"Sis it's not even about privacy people seal up stuff like because they are usually hiding something. If they wanted to seal this up so badly then there has to be reason behind it. Please let me take this to the Buddy Police you're the only family I have left and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

However, Akako paid no heed which frustrated Kuro. _Sometimes she could be so stubborn_, he thought but knew that once she had her mind on something that she was going to do it no matter what. "Alright, alright since you insist on delivering this just promise me that you'll be careful. I still really worry for you but it's clear that you are growing up and I should be able to respect that just like mom and dad would."

"Thanks a lot nii-san," she replied giving her brother one more hug before tightening up the straps on her backpack around her sleeping bag. "There that should be able to do it I have all my clothes, heavy jackets, the water bladder, and finally my pad and sleeping bag. Now all I have to do is check over my deck and finish out my ten card sideboard and I will be all set to go."

"Need someone to playtest your new adjusted deck with?" Akako nodded and they both sat together at the table though there were still two unopened packs from Kuro's gift. "Why don't you open up those packs while I get us some water to drink."

* * *

As Kuro left Akako opened up the first of two packs. _Nothing, nothing, oh and look more nothing_ she thought putting those cards off to the side. Then there was the final pack of the box, though Akako didn't hold too much hope for this final pack. She opened the commons facing her first as she kept going through the pack until the last card shined with a bright yellow before leaving her hand and going into the room in family room. "NII-SAN," she shouted which nearly brought on heart attack from Kuro as he ran into the family room.

There the light expanded engulfing the roof for a moment until it had dissipated. Out came a pretty large white wolf with red stripes running along his body. He was adorned in black short-sleeved shirt with a number of badges above his left pocket and black pants with the same red stripe running down each side of his legs. He was equipped with two large metal gauntlets on each of his hands and arms both having large blades sheathed inside them. Finally, his hat was that of a naval officer's white on top with a black brim but the symbol was something of importance. "Ten-hut soliders," he called causing both Kuro and Akako to snap to attention as he paced looking at both of them. "Hmph...responsive, it's clear that both of you are no stranger to this or you could be ," the wolf then bent down to look at Akako. "Now answer me this were you the one to summon me to this world," Akako merely nodded ", DON'T JUST NOD NOW!"

"SIR! YES, I WAS THE ONE WHO FOUND YOU AS THE BUDDY RARE INSIDE MY PACK SIR," Akako shouted though her voice came off somewhat pitchy and screechy as she shouted at the top. It was then that he looked to Kuro. "And who might you be to this statue of a girl!"

"SIR! MY NAME IS KURO KIJIME, THE STATUE OF A GIRL AS YOU SO CALL HER IS MY SISTER AKAKO KIJIME," Kuro replied with the top of his lung as well but soon felt like he would need a change of pants if this were to continue. Again this wolf kept pacing back and forth inspecting both of them almost as if he was looking for something inside one of them.

He then stopped toward Akako, staring her down directly into her eyes. "Hmph...there's is something definitely inside you miss that I think I can work with here or my name isn't Commander Kiba Lycaon, Codename: Alpha Ace."

* * *

_**Next Time:**_

_**"Less than a hundred of you will make it to the dorms"**_

_**"Are you just going to let them take your spot?!"**_

_**"Dad's combat knife..."**_

**A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read this guys. It takes a lot of work to come up with characters and a whole new set of cards for an OC. I wanted to try and avoid as much Mary-Suisms as possible as fanfiction based on card game anime makes it really easy to make an all powerful character. I'm still debating on whether or not to show off all the cards I made on my DeviantArt page or do a "card-of-the-chapter" type deal so keep an eye out soon enough. As always please take the time to read and review ^^!**


	2. The Trials Begin

To say that the events before Akako would finally leave for Sengoku were not eventful was an understatement. For one, the apartment that both her and Kuro lived in was not meant to hold more than two people, so ultimately Kuro was fine with sleeping on the couch, letting Ace take his bed for the night. Second, living with a commander from a parallel world did not lead to a moment of relaxation, at least for her. It was fraught with exercise, ranging from a jog all around her apartment to push-ups and sit-ups well into the night. However, when all said and done, the welcome sight of bed had caused Akako to merely pass within seconds.

Kuro sneaked in to at least cover her with a blanket and turn out her light, before closing the door behind him, leaving him and the intense commander alone in the living room. "I don't know what you did, but at the same time I can't really condone you for it. In fact, on some level I actually do appreciate it, at the very least it'll make her ready for what she will encounter when she leaves tomorrow for Sengoku."

Ace merely snorted, sitting back with only his tank top and pants still on. "All I did was treat her as I would any other soldier under my command. She did a lot better than some of the recruits that come in."

"She's going to be pretty angry in the morning, at least at me for suggesting a world where it has such hardcore monsters. But if you've lived with her long enough you can light that fire in her. Akako has never missed a beat when it comes to her Buddyfighting skills, but sometimes I do worry about her." He replied. "Sometimes I wonder what's behind her cheerful exterior. She's never the best at expressing what's going on inside, but she is good at being there to help others out."

"Does it have something to with your parents? When I came to this world I wanted someone to bring and build up as much as possible. Watching her from my world, I saw someone who moved with a degree of hesitation." Ace asked, now leaning forward. His ears now stood up in recognition of the issues of his own loss throughout his time as a commander and once upon a time as a soldier on the front lines.

"We lost our folks when Akako was only five years old." Tears could already be seen in Kuro's eyes as the memories came rushing back "Mom was...already terminal, but even then she'd stay behind and took care of us. Dad worked as part of the buddypolice, so usually he was on a case. But then mom started coughing up blood fainted. I immediately called for an ambulance and then called dad who was rushing over to the hospital. All of us rode in the ambulance but as dad was rushing he'd apparently got into an accident on the way. Days later both mom and dad died, mom due to her illness and dad due to his injuries. Our grandmother took care of us, but the moment I was able to become her guardian was the moment I became the one who took care of her from then on."

"So you two have been through quite a bit then..."

"Yes. Which is why I'm still scared of allowing her to leave for Sengoku Academy. The academy itself is an intense place, winning is valued above all else and sometimes their 'techniques' created quite a bit of controversy. Wild animals running amok in the forests, lengthy sessions of training... those are just some of the ways that they try to instill their ideals. Sometimes it's not common to hear on the news about a Buddyfighter having to be escorted off the campus because of exhaustion or injuries due to some of the wild animals." He said, emotions still getting the best of him. Kuro then turned and bent down in a bow, begging at Ace's clawed feet. "Ace, please, please! I know you're her Buddy monster now, and you've only been with us for a few hours, but I need you to do something for me. Protect her, take care of her. Because I won't be able to once she's in Sengoku Academy. I'm scared for her, knowing that someone is behind her to support her will bring me a bit of comfort."

Ace shook his head and brought Kuro up from his paws. "You don't have to beg and grovel at me. I'm not going to coddle her, but like I said, I can build her up make her stronger like I do with my troops. A commander is only as good if he can train his troops to their highest potential." He snorted again as his ears pinned back "And chances are, if she is as emotionally strong on the outside as you said earlier, then making her strong on the inside will be just as easy."

Kuro rubbed the tears out of his eyes and nodded at him. "It's all I can ask. Thank you Ace." He said. He then placed the pillow on the on the couch and grabbed the blanket next to it, getting ready to sleep.

"Are you sure you want to sleep there? I mean, I am your guest after all."

"I'm sure." Kuro replied, lying down and trying to cover himself with the small blanket. "A decorated commander such as yourself deserves at least a nice bed to sleep in." It was then that Ace ripped the blanket off him and pointed to his room.

"Get to bed soldier! Honestly, I've slept in a lot of worst places. A couch would probably be the one of the better places. Now go, before I change my mind and have you do the same circuit your sister just did!" With that, Kuro immediately rushed off to his room before Ace had acted on the different plans he had said. _These are good people, they have some tough circumstances but they are stronger because of it, _he thought _, reminds me somewhat of my experiences, but without the rough conditions._ The strong wolf laid back on the couch, onto the pillow which for him was too soft after years of sleeping on rocks and such. His paws hung off the side of the couch and he covered his eyes with his hat.

* * *

_**3:00 AM**_

Morning came all too early for Akako, who had to will herself out of bed just to be able to sit up properly. After rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she stumbled her way into the bathroom to get a good look at herself in the mirror. If the light was any better it would be blinding her, but eventually her eyes adjusted to see that her shoulder length red hair was a complete mess and her green eyes were bloodshot. She took a good brush of her teeth and managed to get her hair combed, but it still didn't help that it was such an ungodly hour.

Once done with the bathroom and her clothes changed into a green and navy short sleeved shirt and some jeans, she made her way into the kitchen where Ace and Kuro were already eating. "You're five minutes late soldier, but seeing as how you already went through my circuit I'll let it slide this time." Ace remarked at her, which only got a bit of grumbling from her.

"What are we doing up at this ungodly hour anyway nii-san." Akako asked, grabbing some of the fruit from their fridge along with a little bit of oatmeal, which she popped into the microwave.

"Well, seeing as how you now have a Buddy monster, Ace here needs to get registered into the database and your core gadget needs to be made. Commander I has already allowed me to go inside and Ace to get all set up, so we'll need time to go through the process. After that, my friend has allowed us to borrow his jeep so we'll have to make a quick stop by his place." He said "Once you've finished eating we can get going."

It was around 4:30 AM when the sun finally peaked over the horizon of the city. Like Kuro said, they made their stop at the Buddypolice headquarters. Ace followed alongside from the rooftops, being just a little too big for Kuro's car, and was already waiting by the headquarters for them. Once they were inside the building, it was clear how deafeningly quiet it was. With the exception of the Kijime siblings and Ace, not a soul was inside, which made it easy to go through the process. First was the body scan, which helped the police identify the buddy monster and track its movements if needed. Next was getting Akako photographed to identify who the Buddy monster belonged to. Finally - and probably one of the more exciting moments for a Buddyfighter - was the creation of the core gadget. Both Ace and Akako waited outside while Kuro toyed away with it's creation. To her surprise, Ace wasn't drilling her physically.

"No drills this morning, Ace? You had me going almost all afternoon yesterday." She asked.

"No...today I'm your mentor and your friend. Despite what I may have done with you in the first few moments, the best learning can be achieved on the field." He replied "From what your brother has told me about this new school of yours, it sounds like it's going to be a pretty hard road. This road requires the ability to make your own choices, while at the same time knowing that there will be someone familiar to support you. If you will trust me though, I'm sure that you can succeed at what ever comes." With that Ace extended a paw to her. Akako smiled, knowing that she had a friend.

Moments later Kuro came out of the fabrication room with a deck case in hand, which he tossed to Akako. "Try luminizing that for me." He said. Akako slipped her deck into the black and red case, which glowed brightly and transformed into an knife with the deck case acting as a knuckle guard along its front. "Recognize it? Well actually, the design was based off of dad's combat knife that he used to keep. I figured since you and dad were pretty close, this would be the best thing for you to have."

One of the scarier things about Akako was her interest in blades, it wasn't uncommon to find her whittling away at a stick or something with her father's knife. "It's great Kuro! I mean, it's shame though he won't be here to be able to see it though..." She said, eyes downcast.

"At the least he will be with you in spirit, through this core gadget." He replied, feeling Akako's arms wrap around him in a tight hug. "I'll miss you sis, but this will probably be the best thing tha has ever happened to you. I want to wish you luck before we head out, because this will probably be the last time for a long while until we'll get to be able to talk like this."

"Yeah..." She said.

As they left, Akako continued to stare at her newly formed core gadget.

* * *

After leaving the police station, the rest of the trip up deep into the mountains was long and uneventful. As they passed tree after tree, Ace - who was now able to fit in the Jeep comfortably - kept telling stories about Military World and what the world was like before he left. He spoke of his troops, who are each of varying specialities and personalities. "Sometimes it was hard enough just to keep Blaster away from the explosives. If those two were together, you would have an endless night of explosions because they just love to experiment so much," Ace said. "Honestly, I've recruited a lot of crazies, but they're crazy in that way that you would love them to be." The jeep rolled to a stop in front of a giant wall, a sign directly in front of them.

_**Invitees, please have the following out for check in:**_

_**Deck**_

_**Sideboard**_

_**Invitation**_

_**Deck Case or Core Gadget**_

_**Family and friends will not be allowed onto the premise. Say your goodbyes here.**_

_**"**_Well, this is it then." Kuro said, hugging his sister one more time. "You have your things? Your extra clothes and stuff like that?"

"Yeah, everything is packed and ready. I don't think there's anything that I left behind," she replied.

"Good luck then. I'll be out here for a while if you need me." He then gestured to Ace as Akako made her way up the steps. "Remember, please be the companion she needs. I know it's asking a lot but it will help her so much..."

"Of course. You have my word as a Wild Trooper." Ace replied, shaking his hand. "She'll have the companion she needs throughout this." With that, Ace said his goodbyes to Kuro as as they disappeared behind the wall."

It was like leaving one forest and entering another, as Akako and Ace discovered quickly. Save for one building directly in the middle, Sengoku Academy was completely surrounded by forest. "Invitation now." Said what looked to be a ninja who appeared, opening his hand out. He pulled out a pocket scanner, scanning the code on the emblem then handed it back. "Next, my associate and I will be blindfolding you. Both you and your Buddy must comply."

"And if we don't." Ace said, snarling. Akako put a hand in front of him.

"I know its not to your liking, but we don't have a choice." She said, walking up to the ninja. "Go ahead and blindfold us." Another ninja appeared behind Ace and both of them were immediately blindfolded.

"Okay. You, giant dog, will be behind your Buddyfighter. Buddyfighter, your hands will go on my shoulders. Once we have made it to your check in location, I will tap your hand twice. That is your cue to take off your blindfold. There will be absolute silence starting now and when you reach your check in location. Do not speak until the orientation is complete. Both of you nod if you understand." A simple nod came from both of them, though Ace snarled at the "dog" remark.

Their "escort" led them to a tent based in the forest, along the perimeter of the wall that was already holding fifty Buddyfighters, all of them checking in. Akako was next, and much to her surprise was what came out of one of the student's mouths was: "Please place your things onto the marked spot, except for your core gadget and your sideboard. Those will be handed to me." Akako handed over her pack, which had all of her creature comforts, and was handed back her deck and sideboard. "Good, your cards are in order and your sideboard is legal. Please take a backpack behind me and then put on this uniform. Once you are finished you will go over to where the rest of your incoming class is currently taking a seat and wait for further instruction. Nod again if you understand..."

Akako nodded, picking up one of the smaller backpacks and gestured for Ace to go ahead and wait in the seating area for her. Moments later she came out, dressed in a gray top with a black undershirt and gray pants, along with a white band tied around her head. It was then that she was given a silver band that was passed around by the orientation staff and told to put it on. "Ok, we will begin." The student shouted, and everyone turned their heads to look towards the front. "Welcome to Sengoku Academy everyone! Each of you represents some of the young and talented Buddyfighters that Japan has to offer! Now, I'm sure that all of you are wondering why your things have been taken and why those bands are around your wrists! Here to explain via video is one of the four demon lords, the pride of our school! Watch and listen!"

A projector sent up a holo image of a silver haired young man clad in armor as the video begun. "Hello, I am Shosetsu Kirisame. I'm sure that the staff has given you all the welcomes and such, so I will skip the formalites. Take a look around; these are your classmates, your rivals in this school where winning is valued above all else. Now, you may think that the hundred of you crammed in this tent will be the only class coming in. That is completely wrong, as there are 20 more tents receiving this same video. Therefore, in this school right now are 2,000 of some of the best Buddyfighters across the country. With so much talent in one place the question now becomes; who amongst you is strong and or skilled enough to be deemed worthy of undergoing our training here at SENCAD. This is where these bands comes in."

"We will be having a little tournament to cull the best of best amongst all of you. By the time this tournament is over, less than a hundred of this incoming class will actually be allowed into SENCAD." It was then that the tent was filled with loud chatter from all of the students forcing the video to be paused.

"QUIET! QUIET, ALL OF YOU OR ELSE THIS WHOLE TENT WILL BE DISMISSED FROM THE ACADEMY." The leader of the orientation staff shouted. Soon enough, the entire tent became dead silent once more. "Good. Now you all will stay quiet for the duration of this video! Anyone who utters even a sound will immediately be dismissed from the trial before it begins!"

The video began again. "This tournament will be a test of your skills, along with your mental and physical endurance. Over the course of the next two weeks, you will all be scattered about the outer edge of the academy, fighting and surviving until you reach the temple in the center of the school. There are three conditions, however, that will eliminate you from this tournament. The first is that on your bracelet you will see three boxes. If you lose, one of those boxes will light up an "X," obtain three of these "X's" and you will be eliminated from the tournament. The second condition is that every two days a percentage of the bottom ranks will be eliminated from the tournament. You will be able to check on your bracelet where you rank amongst your entire class. If your picture is in the red zone of the rankings that is your alert that you are on the verge of being eliminated. Finally, you will expected to proceed towards the center of the campus by earning a quota of wins. After every two day period, an outer zone will be considered 'dead', meaning if you are not out of that zone and moving deeper into the campus you will be eliminated. "

"That is all I have to say. I will leave it to the orientation staff to remind you of any rules. If you manage to get through this tournament then I, along with my fellow generals, will be waiting." With that, the video ended and the leader of the orientation staff stepped in front, bringing up a holographic map.

"Before we escort you to your starting positions, just a few things." He said, as various green circles appeared. "You will have this holo-map available on your bracelet, but just to point out a few major items of importance. First, these green circles represent lodgings that you can find around the zones. Space is very limited in these lodgings, and you will want them since wild animals are lurking about campus." The green circles then turned into red squares on the map. "Second, while we have given you supplies to live out in the forest, those supplies will only last you for about three - maybe four days if you extremely ration them. These are supply stations. They will randomly open throughout the trial. Again, there is limited supplies, so if you desire them you will have to hurry." The head gestured for the holomap to turn off as he paced.

"Finally, some rules of engagement. There will no help or coaching from any of your other classmates. If you are found helping from a distance, you will be disqualified. If you accept a match and you run before the bracelets can connect you will be disqualified. Lastly, the demon lord generals want to see you guys at your best so they have a hard time limit on Buddy fighting. Once you hear the horns your bracelets will not record any matches unless you are already fighting. I will now open the floor to any questions..." The crowd stayed silent. "Alright, for those of you that have Buddy monsters, go with them along with one member of the orientation staff. They will blindfold you and escort you to your starting positions. Good luck everyone..."

* * *

"Alright, you guys may take off your blindfolds, and good luck." The sudden gleam from the sun momentarily blinded Akako as her eyes adjusted to the light. _Alert, alert._ A cybernetic voice said, echoing across the field. _Round 1 will begin in 10 seconds, red zone set at 10% of class, number of wins to proceed into zone 2: 6. You will have until 11 PM tomorrow to proceed into zone 2._

It was then that horns went off, signaling for the tournament to begin. Ace and Akako proceeded into the forest, before Akako stopped. "Why are you stopping? Don't tell me you're already tired." Ace said. Akako shook her head, opening up the small backpack that they were given.

"We need to see what we have first, it's always a good idea." She said, opening the largest pouch. "Okay, so we have a water bladder containing about 5 liters of water, half a box of matches, a knife that will probably won't even cut paper, a bag of rations, and a really small first aid kit. Now as for housing locations..." She pressed a button on her bracelet, bringing up a hologram of the map "... There's one east of us. My guess is that these shelters will be broken tomorrow and relocated deeper into this forest, which means that we don't necessarily have to have a roof over us. All we have to do is loot a cabin and we'll have enough stuff to extend our livelihood in this tournament."

Ace nodded, satisfied with the idea. "Chances are it will work, but what if we encounter fighters?"

"We'll just have to deal with that when the time comes. C'mon, it's a small jog from our position, but stay low. We don't want to have losses in the first few minutes." She said as they started running. Ace climbed up into the trees to get a better look at the area. Already numerous fights were occuring, some finishing faster than others as students took their first losses. As they arrived at the location, they could see several cabins built to hold at least ten people per the six that were there. Akako crouched low and Ace jumped down from his perch in the trees, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"It is busy over there, too many fighters really want that early comfort." She said, eyes darting across the field.

"Soldier, I really don't think...,"

"We have to do this, it's either early gratification or long-term sustainability. I would rather go for long term here." Akako hissed, then saw a back window. "There. If you can give me a boost, I can get inside, get what we need, and get out before anyone notices us."

"This still isn't a good idea, but fine," Ace placed his back up against the cabin, cupping his paws together. Akako ran up, placing her foot in his paw then up on his shoulders, allowing her to get inside. Once inside, she saw various bunks, each with their own sleeping bags for the fighters to stay. Not only that, but there were more bags of food, sleeping pads, everything that they needed to have a more sustainable lifestyle. "Ace, be ready to catch them, cause I'm going to start tossing stuff from here." She hurried, rolling up a sleeping bag, taking tarps from the shelves, and various amounts of food. But as she was finally tossing them outside- _Warning, you have been targeted leaving this area will constitute in an instant disqualification._

"Well boys, looks we have ourselves a looter here..." A male voice said as Akako stood up slowly, looking out the window. Ace shook his head in shame as he climbed inside. "So you have a buddy monster eh... How's about this; we have a little wager. If you win, we'll let you stay here. But if I win... well, we'll just take that backpack from you, since you're so desperate for ?

"She won't make such a deal!" Ace snarled, but Akako held him back.

"Fine, we'll do it."

As they made their way outside, a crowd gathered around them. The young man that spotted them fixed his glasses and slick back his black hair. "Well, seeing as the chances of you winning here are slim, i guess I should introduce myself. I'm Daichi Hiroto, and today I will be the gamemaster. Let's see how you handle exploring through the depths of my castle!" He said as his buddy monster landed beside him.

"So, who's the fresh meat here?" The dragon asked as it snaked around his partner.

"I'm Akako Kijime." She replied in a matter-of-fact voice. "And you and your little group will be finding a new place after this, right Ace?" Ace snorted, still angry at the fact that his partner was stupid enough to go through her plan before getting caught. "Whatever, let's get started."

_Activating buddyfight barrier, only combatants are authorized inside. Non-authorized users must be outside the barrier or risk disqualification_. Both Daichi and Akako's bracelets shined, creating a dome of auburn energy around them that pushed back the crowd that was watching. On the ground, one large circle glowed underneath both fighters' feet, which then spawned three smaller circles. _Field ready. Combatants, you may now luminize your decks._

"Welcome to my castle! Horrors and frights await as I control your fate!" Hiroto shouted as he tossed his core deck case in the air. It glowed as it fell into a golden crown with a green gem in the middle. "Luminize! Gamemaster's Dungeon of Horrors!"

"Troops! Emergency deployment! Come forth armed and ready for battle!" Akako also shouted, holding her deck case. It glowed, turning into her combat knife with a serrated blade and a red gem along it's handle. "Luminize! Relentless Troopers!"

_**"Buddy...fight!"**_

_**"Raise the flag!**_"

Two flags instantly materialized behind both fighters. The first had a staff and torch with a shield in the background. The second flag had a wolf's face on the front with claw marks and a camouflage design in the back ground.

"I fight with the prideful mastery of Dungeon World!" Hiroto shouted as his dragon roared, spouting a beam of light from it's mouth.

Ace howled, his blades protruding from his gauntlets, shining brightly. "I fight for Military World!"

* * *

_**Next Time: "You chose to take unecessary risks!"**_

_**"My family has been on the move for the longest time..."**_

_**"Time to increase the pressure on this class"**_

_**"Luminzie!"**_

_**A/N: Alright so we have aa pretty beastly section of content here but I feel that doing more story development would help later. Keep on the lookout because there will be a bit more characters here.**__**Oh and also I would like to thank UnderDog Hero for beta'ing my story his/her help is very appreciated! **_


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